This invention concerns an improved device to control and temporarily adapt the semaphoric regulation. Particularly the invention concerns a system of said type, to be inserted to be to rescue and public intervention vehicles advantage or of other types of emergency vehicles, or, else, to be to collective emergency prearranged plans advantage, comprising radioelectric equipments and automation contrivances coupled to present monitoring systems of networks and semaphoric groups, which can be controlled, both automatically and manually, by operative exchanges or directly be said emergency vehicles.
It is known how presently semaphoric networks can be controlled:
In most cases, through automatic time contrivances, connected to each semaphoric group;
Occasionally by destined personnel, present on the spot;
Through contrivances and systems ensuring synchronization among the different semaphoric groups, in more sophisticated cases, with the aim of adjusting said synchronization to temporary traffic conditions. Adoption of such solutions entails, quite often, the occurence of heavy difficulties for rescue and/or public intervention vehicles, which, in their emergency requirements, are bound to strict rules of semaphoric network.
There can particularly happen queues due to semaphore's red light; some flows of cars in opposite direction allowing no turning, mostly to the left; difficulties by drivers to free the road for incoming vehicles; pedestrians'flows semaphorically regulated in opposite direction to that of an incoming rescue vehicle, etc. Likewise, in some particular cases, operation of public intervention, police vehicles can be made difficult by display of semaphoric network's green signal, for instance during pursuits; thence it can be convenient to provide for signal adaptation.
Besides, one should take into account both risks and responsibility which must be taken on by drivers of rescue vehicles in connection with third party travelling under green light. At the moment, public emergency plans find implementation difficulties owing to presence of semaphoric groups which, whenever activated, reckon on regular traffic requirements, while, once deactivated create unruly traffic flows and quite harmful to any collective emergency plan.
Furthermore, the various emergency vehicles have different requirements in connection with regular traffic, for instance on the ground of their speeds, and drivers are often led to operate in unknown areas.
The main object of this invention is to supply one system to control and temporarily adapt the semaphoric regulation which is so functionally structured as to be advantageously acceptable, in any technical, functional, environmental, etc., situation.
Said objects are obtained, according to invention, through acting at level of each road crossing, or at that of crossing's nodes, in a suitable position with reference to exchange, or to exchanges, which locally manage the switching of semaphoric signals.
No interest is paid, from an operative viewpoint to which can be the upstream technical approach causing and managing said switching, which can consist indifferently of processors and/or sensors, and/or units, whichever be their type and/or level.
It is therefore the specific object of this invention a system to control and temporarily adapt the semaphoric regulation consisting of first receiving radioelectric equipment means, equipped with aerial and provided in number suitable for crossing's requirements, on roads, buildings, etc., to receive and decode signals on a given frequency; first transmitting radioelectric equipment means, equipped with aerial, suitable for retransmitting said properly reencoded signals, provided in the same number as that of said first receiving radioelectric equipment means, and coupled to latters as to form decentralized monitoring sites for controls and transit; second receiving radioelectric equipment means, equipped with aerial, provided near the normal switching exchange of semaphoric signals, able to decode the signal received on a given frequency, from said sites; and of one main transmitter, connected to aerial means provided on the rescue vehicles.
In a second embodiment of system according to invention, the same consists of first receiving radioelectric equipment means, equipped with aerial, provided in number suitable for crossing's requirements, on roads, buildings, etc., to receive and decode signals on a given frequency; first transmitting radioelectric equipment means, equipped with aerial, suitable for retransmitting said properly reencoded signals, provided in the same number as that of said first receiving radioelectric equipment means, and coupled to latter so as to form decentralized monitoring sites for controls and transit; one main transmitter, connected to aerial means, provided on rescue vehicles; one on board secondary transmitter, sending signals to said transit monitoring site; second receiving radioelectric equipment means, provided near the usual switching exchange of semaphoric signals, able to decode the signal sent, on a given frequency, from said main transmitter; and third receiving radioelectric equipment means, enslaved to an interface acting on the semaphoric system, able to decode the signals coming from said transit monitoring site, so as to instruct said interface to suitably switch the signals on the ground of following signal from said second receiving radioelectric equipment means.
Preferably, the aerial of said first receiving radioelectric equipment means is of "nondirectional" type, while that of first transmitting radioelectric equipment means is of the "directional" type.
Furtherly, the aerial of second transmitting radioelectric equipment means is of "nondirectional" type.
Still according to invention, said main transmitter can include automatic and/or manual encoding systems, and encoding means for special controls, as well as a control apparatus of transmission's power as a function of vehicle's speed.
In both suggested embodiments, there might be provided an interface between, respectively, said second radioelectric equipment means and node's semaphoric system, as well as between said third radioelectric means and node's semaphoric system.
Preferably, said interface can consist of microprocessor means for processing received signals; said microprocessor means process digital signals able to pilot an electromechanical interface, checking the actual state within semaphoric exchange under reference, checking the request for emergency operativity from an interested station, selecting the optimum solution among the available ones, according to those allowed for semaphoric node itself.
According to the invention, said microprocessor means can be not installed in special cases, when there might be foreseen the direct use of radiofrequency decoded signals to pilot the existing switching exchange of semaphoric signals, and a possible electromechanical interface.
Electromechanical interface can actually be not provided in case that microprocessor is absent.
Still according to invention, said interface can be provided with an electromechanical switch adaptable to any type of semaphoric system to which the system of the invention is to be coupled, the latter connecting, on the ground of information coming from microprocessor means, the semaphores to control system or to usual switching exchange.
Furtherly, according to the invention, said usual exchange and said interface, can be provided in a common housing, in case that intervention is not made on an already existing semaphoric node, but that a new node is implemented, being in this case just one the control system to light the semaphores'lamps.
The system according to invention can include transmitting means, consisting of an equipment sending encoded signals and, possibly, some repeaters, said transmitting means being placed within an operative exchange.
Still according to the invention, said receiving and decoding radioelectric equipment means, are advantageously connected to a data processing service, or, directly, to a suitable control centre for semaphoric control.
In an embodiment of system according to the invention, the latter may operate at the same time on interdependent semaphoric units.
It is therefore quite clear how the system according to invention may be indifferently controlled either by the emergency vehicle or an operative centre.
Advantageously, according to invention, in correspondence with the semaphoric group there can be installed acoustic and/or luminous means which, actuated by said interface of semaphoric group, may warn all users of rescue vehicle's arrival, as well as of consequent activation of temporary control system. At the same time they let the driver of rescue vehicle know that the system is operative at a given node, or they warn him about any anomalous operation of system in that node, or that said anomalous operation is possible, or lastly, they warn him about the possible contemporary arrival of another rescue vehicle at said node.
Said acoustic and/or luminous means can be used instead of preferential switching system, whenever it is not required to vary the traffic flows, but only to warn motorists and pedestrians about said vehicle's arrival.
The present invention will be now described for illustrative, but not limitative purposes, according to its preferred embodiments, as shown in the enclosed drawings.